-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Inmates at a prison in Cuba have made a set of hidden-camera videos to expose the conditions there , publicizing the filth and decrepitude of the facilities despite the risk of retribution .

`` The conditions here at Combinado del Este are subhuman , and the food is unfit for human consumption , '' says inmate Douglas Moore , who says he is an American convicted of a drug offense .

Because he is an American , he says in the video , `` I am singled out for abuse . I can not count all the times that I have been chained by my hands and legs and beaten mercilessly , then robbed of my meager possessions by the guardia frontera here at Combinado del Este . ''

He pulls up his pants to show bruises on his leg , and is seen walking with a cane . He points out his cracked and broken sink , and then shows how his toilet is too broken to sit on , so if he wants to use it he has to place a chair frame over it .

The videos -- obtained by CNN through a dissident journalist -- show derelict cell blocks overlooking a seedy exercise yard . The grime on the walls is so thick that when an inmate wipes it with a napkin , the paper becomes blackened with filth . Some of the toilets shown are barely more than a hole in the floor .

Prisoners , including the narrator , complain in Spanish of dubious food , meager rations , dilapidated cells , moldy walls , overcrowding , and limited exercise hours . They say sewage leaks are persistent .

Combinado del Este is a Cuban maximum security prison about 10 miles southeast of Havana . It is believed to hold both ordinary prisoners , like violent criminals and drug runners , as well as political prisoners jailed for criticizing the ruling Castro brothers .

Representatives of the Cuban government in Havana , Washington , and New York did not respond to requests from CNN for comment .

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is unable to investigate conditions at Combinado del Este . `` Unlike in many other countries in the region , '' said spokesman Steven Anderson , `` the ICRC does not have access to prisons in Cuba . ''

But photos from a media tour of the prison in 2004 depicted a far rosier picture , with inmates being taught computer skills and exercising on a lawn .

CNN can not verify the authenticity of the videos , obtained through Dania Virgen Garcia , a dissident journalist in Cuba whose blog is called Cuba por Dentro . Two of the 10 videos are posted on a YouTube channel associated with Cuban dissidents . Her blog address is shown on the videos . Garcia said the footage was shot in January using a camera smuggled into the prison .

The prisoners who made the tapes may be in danger of retribution , according to Frank Calzon , a Castro critic who is executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba . But this month 's visit to Cuba by the pope may shield them from retribution , at least in the short term , he said . And in the long term , he added , the prisoners may believe it is worth the risk to make the videos and publicize their conditions .

`` The only hope a prisoner has , '' he said , `` is for the outside world to know about their plight . Getting attention is a way of forcing the government not to mistreat you . ''

CNN 's Javier de Diego and Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report

@highlight

The videos are said to show conditions at Combinado del Este prison

@highlight

An American prisoner says he is `` singled out for abuse '' and `` beaten mercilessly ''

@highlight

Prisoners complain in Spanish of dubious food , meager rations and dilapidated cells

@highlight

CNN can not confirm the videos , obtained through a dissident journalist , are authentic